Kevin O'Reilly

Frame Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)

Thanks, Madam Chair. That is helpful, but I am still trying to understand. Are there some teeth to these agreements in that our government could dispute or ask an upstream developer, the upstream government, to stop or cease putting something into the water that is going to adversely affect us? Is that sort of authority found in the transboundary water agreements? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)

Thanks, Madam Chair. That is great to hear. I just want to poke into this a little bit further. Back on February 5th, the Minister talked about $6.8 million over five years for barren-land caribou herds. Is this ENR money that was approved through the FMB, or is this federal money that he was talking about back on February 5th? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)

I want to thank the Premier for that response. It was 3,400 households, not individuals; it's a lot more individuals who are worried about food. Mr. Speaker, without a proper tracking system to account for local food production and consumption, it seems unlikely that there will be any measurable progress towards building stronger food security. Can the Premier tell us whether there is indeed a proper tacking system in place for food security in the NWT, and if not, will she commit her Cabinet to developing one?

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)

Thanks, Madam Chair. I will just leave that alone for now. I want to ask a question about Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program. What are we doing to actually facilitate a response and implementation to the environmental audits? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)

Thanks, Madam Chair. That is good information to have, but I don't think it really answered my question, which was: what was accomplished in the last Assembly with regard to these agreements? I am just going to leave that. We had a lot of discussion in the House and outside of the House about the Teck Resources project. The Minister had indicated that the transboundary water agreement with Alberta was going to protect us in some way. Could the Minister actually give us an explanation as to how that agreement will protect us from upstream development in the future? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)

Thanks, Madam Chair. That is great news. Thank you. I wanted to move on to caribou funding. The Minister talked about $5.9 million of additional federal funding covering a whole bunch of different areas. Then back on February 5th, I'd asked questions of the Minister around caribou funding for the Bathurst caribou herd. At that point, he talked about $6.8 million over five years. I am just trying to reconcile who is paying what for caribou and how much and over what period of time. Can the Minister commit to give us something in writing that lays this out more clearly? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)

Merci, Monsieur le President. As noted by my colleague, the Member for Yellowknife Centre, the Northwest Territories Bureau of Statistics released additional data from the 2019 community survey at the end of February of this year. I'll focus on food security, because I find those results particularly shocking.

In 2018, 3,407 NWT households, or 23 percent, reported that they were often or sometimes worried about having enough money for food in the previous 12 months. Many of these households also stated they had difficulty making ends meet, with 12.5 percent reporting both food insecurity and...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)

Thanks, Madam Chair. I am not sure what those very specific actions were, but I think I will have to move on. The contract services here on this page has increased significantly. Can I get an explanation? Thanks, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)

Thanks, Madam Chair. No further questions on this section. Thanks.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)

Thanks, Madam Chair. I think the Minister said, even in his opening remarks if I can find them, that there was some funding in here for wildlife surveys along the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway. Can I get an explanation of that, please? Thanks, Madam Chair.